McCombs’ first entry into sports came in 1972 when he joined Angelo Drossos and several other San Antonio businessmen in leasing the struggling Dallas Chaparrals of the American Basketball Association and moving them to San Antonio as the Spurs. The Spurs proved to be a runaway hit, leading Drossos and McCombs to tear up the lease agreement and buy the team outright after only one year.

Two years after taking the Spurs into the NBA, McCombs sold off his stake in the Spurs.